


Vivid

by AtropaAzraelle (Polyoxyethylene)



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Flash Fic, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Altissia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-29 20:40:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20802626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Polyoxyethylene/pseuds/AtropaAzraelle
Summary: Gladio helps Ignis through the aftermath of Altissia.





	Vivid

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Recipeh_for_Success](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Recipeh_for_Success/gifts).

> Recipeh for Success requested a bit of hurt/comfort for her birthday, so here we go.
> 
> Happy birthday! I hope you like it.

It was the sound of Iggy's breathing that woke Gladio up. Fast, laboured, like he was fighting or running or both, even though he was tucked safely into the bed. The sound of Ignis in distress yanked Gladio from a deep and exhausted slumber. This happened every night now. At first Iggy hadn't seemed to dream. He'd tossed and turned for hours, unable to get to sleep until his body got so exhausted it was like hitting an off switch and he crashed, but he hadn't dreamed.

Lately the bad dreams had been every night. Sometimes two or three times a night. Gladio was exhausted with them, and he could only imagine how Ignis felt.

He flicked the bedside lamp on, bathing the room in a soft light that still made Gladio wince at its brightness. The sky outside was black and star-strewn, the streets eerily quiet. Altissia had been a bustling, twenty four hour city of restaurants and flower stalls and gondolas. Now it lay in tatters, its silence testament to its losses. 

The fresh scarring at Ignis's left eye dragged claws through Gladio's heart every time he looked at it. Ignis's skin was grey and scorched, carved into his face with ragged edges. He hadn't told Gladio how he'd got it, how his eye had burned and his lip had burst, and his pupils clouded over. He didn't need to. Gladio had seen the ring and where it lay. He knew what Ignis had done, what he'd risked.

He didn't know what Ignis dreamed about now, but he could take a guess at that too.

“Hey,” he said, his hand sliding over Iggy's neck. His pulse thundered under Gladio's hand, his heart racing. His skin was warm, and slick with sweat. Gladio brushed his thumb over Iggy's jaw, cupping his face. “Iggy, wake up,” he said, “it's just a dream.”

A whimper burst from Ignis's lips. The sound of it twisted in Gladio's gut. Two clouded eyes opened, wide and terrified, staring at nothing.

This was when the real panic happened. They'd been through it a dozen times before. Gladio squeezed his own eyes shut as Ignis gave a despairing wail and sat up. “I'm here, Iggy,” he said, coiling both of his arms around Ignis's frame and dragging him in against his chest. “I'm here, you're safe.”

“I can't see!”

The terror in Ignis's voice brought an ache to Gladio's throat. He held Ignis tighter as he squirmed in his grasp, reaching out for something Gladio could only imagine. “You're with me,” he repeated, his voice low and soothing, “you're safe.”

The panic subsided, collapsing suddenly into realisation. Ignis's chest heaved with dreamt exertion and fear, and he leaned into Gladio, gripping the arm around his chest with both hands. “Gladio.” His voice brimmed with relief, and apology, and a lingering despair.

Gladio shushed him and held him. It was all he could do. “It's me,” he answered.

Ignis's fingers squeezed his arm, and Ignis sighed, stilling for a second. Gladio could feel him forcing his breath back under control, waiting for his heart to stop pounding. “I'm sorry,” he said, finally.

Gladio shook his head and squeezed Ignis more tightly in his arms. He never wanted to let the man go. If holding him like this would stop the nightmares from ever coming for him again, he'd stay awake the rest of his life holding Ignis just like this. “You wanna talk about it?” he asked. He knew the answer, but the offer was there, and it would remain there.

Ignis lay still in his arms for a moment before he answered, softly, “No. They're just--” he began, and cut himself off with a trembling breath.

“Just what?” Gladio prompted, burying his nose into Ignis's hair. No matter how many showers Gladio helped him with, he still smelled of saltwater from that day. 

“So vivid,” Ignis said, finally. “The colours, the movements. It all seems so real. More real than I remember.”

Gladio swallowed over the lump in his throat and pressed his lips to Ignis's temple. Memories faded, but he could wake up and look at pictures of Iris, and Insomnia, and refresh his. Ignis couldn't do that any more. He could lie here in Gladio's arms, and the image he held of Gladio's face would be fuzzy and lacking detail, like the faces of people in dreams. And it would only get worse as time passed.

“I'm sorry,” Ignis said again. “If you wanted to sleep somewhere else, I'd understand.”

Gladio scowled and tugged Ignis ever tighter into himself. “For a smart guy, you say some dumb stuff,” he told him. “I'm not going anywhere.”

Ignis resisted the movement at first, a split second of age old reluctance to being comforted lingering in his shoulders, and then he wrapped both of his arms around Gladio's waist and set his cheek against Gladio's chest. Gladio tucked his chin onto the crown of Ignis's head, brushing his fingers over Ignis's spine as they held each other.

“Thank you,” Ignis murmured, his voice quiet, and thick.

“Don't sweat it,” Gladio replied. He felt the wetness of tears against his skin and turned his head to press his cheek into Ignis's hair. “I'm gonna be right by your side,” he promised.


End file.
